With the Strength of the Gods
by my.pen.and.sword
Summary: (AU) An adaptation of the birth and adventures of the most popular hero in all of Grecian mythology : Inuyasha (as the mighty Hercules) struggles with the consequences of having a god's blood in a body of a mortal.
1. Prologue

_**A disclaimer : I do not own Inuyasha**_

_**A note of gratitude : None of this would be possible without my fantastic beta (****the lovely and talented Deathangel113**) and viewers like you._

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"Sing in me, Muse, and through me tell the story  
of that man skilled in all ways of contending,  
the wanderer, harried for years on end…"

_-The Odyssey_

* * *

Kagome looked over the damage with tired eyes from where she sat on the floor. Beautiful fountains had crumbled into debris and the jagged pieces of marble were scattered across the once-elegant mosaic floors. The smooth formations painstakingly cut and placed by artisans long ago lay shattered and broken. Now, the small pieces of glass captured patches of sunlight pouring through the broken ceiling, throwing colored reflections scornfully into the empty spaces.

The destruction was evident in every corner of the room Kagome could see – nothing had been spared, not even shoots of the young, green plants she had placed in the bathhouse over a year ago. Sad leaves had been viscously torn from their stalks and left to wilt with the memories of the stonework. Even as she watched, the only flower remaining of the Rose Mallow plants Kagome had clumsily attempted to transplant swayed precariously on the few strands securing it to the stalk.

Kagome turned her eyes away quickly, unwilling to watch the light purple head fall. She focused instead on the spraying water of the broken fountains. Rainbows had sprung mockingly into the air where beams of sunlight cut through the cool shade to release them. Kagome watched water drops fall from a broken piece of marble near her right foot, unconcerned that the pool surrounding her legs was getting larger.

A drop that had mildly captured her attention fell noiselessly to the ground, all sound of its flight and impact drowned out by the more impressive sprays of water of the larger fountains and the quiet sniffling in a corner. The ripples across the pool reached Kagome's bare leg, inspiring her to motion as though passed through kinetic energy. She lifted her hand out toward the dark and sniffling corner. The sounds rose in volume only slightly as a reaction to her expenditure.

_No…..hush…._Kagome thought. She stretched her fingers out further, as though the strain and tension of her hand might convey her message across the room. Instead, the sniffling became sobs – great heaving sounds, only hushed by the silence immediately following their cresting as if the perpetrator couldn't gather enough air to convey the depths of their despair.

They cut off abruptly. Kagome dropped her hand. It landed with a splash and she felt a warm wave wash over the side of her hip, sending the more adventurous drops to land from her ankle to almost the top of her shoulder. In response to the loss of another audible source, the fountains broke the palpable stillness of the room with a more pressing fissure that echoed through Kagome's ears to ring inside of her mind. She could hear every drop of water now. But a foreign sound was beginning to intrude on the portrait of destruction.

Muffled footsteps were coming from outside the bathhouse, with each football becoming louder and more distinct. Kagome moved her field of vision to the cracked and broken doorway where a long stretch of hallway was just visible through the piles of rubble. A shadow appeared from around the corner, indistinct and far away. But Kagome knew better. She closed her eyes, unwilling to see anymore and she let the serenade of the erratically spouting fountain and the sporadic warmth of the beams of sunlight take her away to a happier time.


	2. Chapter 1

_**A disclaimer : I do not own Inuyasha**_

_**A note of gratitude : None of this would be possible without my fantastic beta (****the lovely and talented Deathangel113**) and viewers like you._

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_23 Years Earlier_

Princess Izayoi stood unseeing on the cliffs and felt the patches of the Greek sunlight bravely poking through the clouds counteract the spray of the water occasionally reaching her legs. Salty winds whipped around her loose-fitting chiton and tangled her long, dark curls. Tomorrow she would have to change from the high cut silks of her girlhood to the longer, ankle-length clothing of a woman of maturity.

Unlike all the other girls of her city-state, Izayoi was not excited for this transition. She knew that as the princess of her lands, it was her responsibility to marry whomever her father chose for her. And her father had indeed chosen well for her - she was to be married to a suitor who was not only acceptable for her rank, but had also brightened their exchanges with examples of his kindness.

As his most beloved child, he would part with her "for nothing less than the best," her father had informed her last week with a wink.

Izayoi only managed a weak smile in response, but her father, drunk on the fine wine and the celebrations of his success hadn't noticed her lack of enthusiasm. It was useless to debate the issue with him, as Izayoi knew only too well. She had already thought everything to divert her inevitable fate, from running away to pretending to be too picky in choice of suitor. Her father had laughingly disregarded her latest suggestion to serve in the temple of Artemis for a year as the Athenian girls often do.

"You want to be a she-bear? Ahahaha! You would be more like a she-deer!" he laughed.

Her brothers took up his laughter let it spill out to fill the room until even the servants were laughing at the thought.

Embarrassment rang in her ears as loudly as their laughter. Not for the first time that year, she cursed her meekness that was the reason for her lack of follow-through in almost all of her plans. She really was just like the shy does of the forests: not only did she have wide, dark eyes, but she was also curious, docile and happiest when free to roam on her own terms.

Izayoi sighed, a sound carried away by the wind and substituted for the crashing of the waves below her. She could only follow compliantly as instructed now, as a princess ought to do.

It wasn't that she didn't like Amphitryon – he was a fine example of typical Grecian men, with his cropped dark hair and brown eyes set into a relatively handsome face of light olive complexion. He was skilled enough in all of the typical male past times and still held the strength of youth in spite of his middle age.

"And he has always been so kind to me," Izayoi rationalized to herself and the steep cliffs. But she knew it wasn't the issue of her suitor that had her so unwilling to marry.

Even as she tried talking herself into accepting her future, she knew how unhappy she would be under the command of a husband. As a young girl of status and wealth, Izayoi had been free to do as she pleased. She would run through the woods of her small city-state Tiryns as carefree as Artemis herself. Now she would be substituting her love of independence for a space at foreign hearth, tending to a new home and raising children to whom she would transfer her freedom of responsibility. Izayoi again silently thanked her own mother for all of her sacrifice that had previously gone unnoticed until the princess's unwilling and upcoming nuptials had been brought forward.

A particularly aggressive wave ground into the rocks below as though it had absorbed all of Izayoi's frustrations and also wished for an escape. The spray flew up the cliff to cover Izayoi and she finally opened her eyes in surprise.

"Oh!" Izayoi exclaimed in a panic. "The sun is so low! Where has the day gone?"

She bent to gather the assortment of wooden and cloth objects that lay strewn about the ground where she had carelessly dropped them in favor of lamentation to the tolerant ears of nature. The toys of her childhood were few in number for one so privileged, but Izayoi had always preferred her imagination to physical personifications of adventures.

Dolls spilling over her clutches, Izayoi turned for one last gaze out towards the bay, knowing that it would be her last as a free woman. She turned her face from the spray and morosely continued on the rocky path through the forest to the temple of Artemis.

As King Electryon's favorite child, Izayoi had accompanied him to the larger and more profitable city-states when he had gone to sell their livestock at the more lucrative market. She had seen the imposing-looking creations of white marble that were more acceptable homes for the gods and goddesses. The stonework had been either carefully carved to show the tales of the deity who was accessible inside or had been polished to be as flawlessly smooth as the silks worn by the priestesses. And the people! There were so many people, come to worship or ask for assistance. The smells of burning meat and incense drifted through the cold but beautiful halls to the streets where it would clash with the smell of unwashed bodies and livestock remains. The clear divide between the masses and the divinity was as distinct as the divide between her and her father and the rest of the population.

Izayoi had been uncomfortable with these palaces. She thought that the goddess Artemis would probably prefer the simple construction of the temple in her kingdom. It was secluded deep in the woods with simple stone walls, but the interior contained a vast amount of offerings and a fire always tended by a priestess.

Izayoi walked towards the stone alter, nodding kindly to the old priestess who bustled around to the front of the temple so that the princess's prayers would remain between her and the goddess. Izayoi knelt at the simple stone table and gazed into the fire behind it. She watched the flames dancing for a bit, attempting to clear her mind of everything but her prayers to the young goddess of virgin girls.

The flames flickered on but the princess's mind remained as troubled as when she stood before the ocean. Izayoi narrowed her eyes in frustration, allowing a clipped _humph _to escape her lips. She had been short tempered lately, a sign of the pressures of her upcoming future. While normally containing an infinite amount of patience, Izayoi had recently been finding herself becoming irritated quickly with smaller situations that would not have even crossed her notice otherwise. She had become especially frustrated with herself and her own shortcomings. Every time she had noticed her own failings, she would gather them in her thoughts to torment her consciousness, with the greatest of all of these failures being her inability to stall her marriage.

Izayoi sighed and tore her sights from the flames while also attempting to tear her mind from ideas about leaping into them. She picked up one of her toys she had brought to sacrifice to the goddess and studied it carefully. It was a dog her father had made for her brother Melecio. Izayoi had stolen it because she liked its soft pelt made of white rabbit's skin. When Melecio complained to her father, he just laughed good-humoredly and advised Melecio to keep better watch over his possessions or Hermes might inspire her to steal more of them. The rabbit fur was still discolored from when she had dropped it into the pools at the base of the cliffs when she and her brothers had been looking for strange creatures Poseidon brought to the shallows. The goddess probably wouldn't mind and Izayoi thought that it had brought more love and attachment to the offering.

Carefully laying the soft figure onto the stone table, she lined up its fellows beside it. The firelight threw a warmth on them that made them look more worn, more used, and more loved. Izayoi was filled with sudden and choking fear. How could she part with them? Couldn't they protect her in her new life? The stone temple and the militarily aligned dolls swam into a haze but Izayoi couldn't show any outward signs of unhappiness. She blinked her tears away, wishing she could do the same for her fear. She stared once more into the flames, this time reciting her prayers as a woman moving from virgin girlhood to the embrace of marriage.

As she finished saying the words without feeling, she rested her sights on the fire lit toys only briefly and fleetingly wished that she didn't have to give up her freedom to marriage. Then she rose from the alter and walked out of the temple and into the dark woods without looking back at her childhood.

* * *

Izayoi walked as slowly as she could, but no matter how long she lingered in the woods she couldn't avoid eventually ending at the villa. She was in view just as the last rays of the sun died on the horizon but even the slight visibility was enough for one of the guards to announce her presence. Yes, she appreciated their keen eyesight as they were stationed for her protection, but she found her ire peaked quickly as it had been apt to do lately - she had been trying to sneak into the grounds unnoticed. Swallowing her sharp retort to their heralds, the princess strolled into the courtyard with as much dignity as her inner turmoil would allow her so that she would project acceptance with the teasing for her wedding tomorrow she was sure she would find inside.

She was completely wrong. The main room was filled with chaos – all of her brothers were tying leather to their arms and legs or belting weapons around their waists. Everywhere the spray of steel and moving bodies competed for the scant light of the hearth. The song of war preparations could be heard over all of the confusion, with the calls for blood harmonizing with the clang of swords being roughly shoved into sheaves.

"Izayoi! My precious!" King Electryon's voice broke through the melody. "Where have you been, child?"

"Father! What's happened? Why is everyone wearing their battle armor?" Izayoi called back, shouting to make herself heard. _Did you disagree with the marriage terms? Are we fighting with my intended?_ She added silently, but felt pangs of guilt for wishing such misfortune on Amphitryon. He had, after all, done nothing wrong.

"That thieving rascal Taphius! He stole all of the prize cattle!" The king spat at Izayoi as an explanation. "We're going to get revenge!"

Izayoi's heart leapt. She silently sent a thank-you to Artemis for her gift as there was no way she could get married without her father present to perform the necessary sacrifices. Trying not to let the relief show on her face, Izayoi composed an answer that a princess should give under these circumstances.

"Oh father – I wish you and my dear brothers the best for your endeavors and a speedy return so that I may be married as quickly as possible."

"Izayoi, you are always making me laugh, child," he chuckled at her while her face turned from a stone-like blankness to despair. "We don't need everyone to go – I'm only sending the boys. I can still marry you tomorrow, although you'll have to celebrate with your brothers when they get back."

Oh this was much more painful. She had been fleetingly given hope, only to have it stamped out again. Her father strode away from her chuckling, but not without mussing her hair first. She kept her face downturned and followed the hollows between the stones with her eyes as though she could follow them away from this room and its unconstructive chaos, away from this life and its uncontrolled arrangement.

Izayoi remained motionless as the stones she so attentively monitored while the room filled with motion around her. She didn't move when her brothers called to one another for various pieces of armor. She didn't move when the shadows that filled the space in the room grew larger with the hearth dying. And she didn't move when all nine of her brothers ran out the door to the stables, mounted their steeds and ran into the dark towards revenge. Izayoi stayed perfectly still, watching the stonework floors intently, trying not to cry until the very last flames of the hearth whispered out.


	3. Chapter 2

_**A disclaimer : I do not own Inuyasha**_

_**A note of gratitude : None of this would be possible without my fantastic beta (the lovely and talented Deathangel113) and viewers like you.**_

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The next day passed in a blur. One moment poor Izayoi was being scrubbed clean in a bathhouse by the women of her household. Then she was pinned in a white silk, cinched at her narrow hips by a silver girdle. After, she was placed in the center of the room and adorned with her mother's old jewelry. All the while, the women would make lewd jokes at her expense. The chatter provided by the women had long faded into noise for Izayoi, though. She could only hear the steady beating of her heart as it pounded away as it had always done - a steady _thump thump_ while the women brushed out her long, dark curls. She listened to nothing else as they placed the crown of entwined leaves on her head. And when they closed her tiny hand around a ripe pomegranate, she unseeingly took in the blending colors, focusing instead on the stable heartbeat in her chest. When she stepped out over the threshold of her house, she didn't even stop to mourn that she would never cross it again as a woman of that household. Izayoi simply looked up into the overcast sky and concentrated on the soft beats that were the only constant remaining to her in her life.

The marriage was simple – she was herded into the temple of Hera by the same chattering women who threw white petals all around her for her projected loss of innocence. Her father wailed in mourning of the loss of his only daughter and made sweet smelling sacrifices to the goddess of marriage. Then he herded the best of the sheep and goats to Amphitryon. Only a few cows followed their smaller pasture companions, and they were withered and old. But if Amphitryon noticed, he didn't care – his face had not changed from the beatific smile he had worn since he first saw Izayoi. He simply waved his hand so that a shepherd standing beside him would herd the animals to their new pastures.

He reached out his hand for Izayoi's. She looked up at him as though just realizing he was there and couldn't hold back a smile in response to his obviously all-consuming joy. Amphitryon saw his young bride react and closed his hand around hers, rubbing it comfortingly. She visibly relaxed and he led her towards the great feast that had prepared in honor of the occasion. He seated her on the fine silks he had laid out for her, sitting himself eagerly at her left. Her dear father sat on her other side and began to pass the platters of mutton and cheeses.

Now instead of listening intently to her heartbeat, Izayoi relaxed into the festivity around her. She moved her gaze from her new husband who had been gushing about the joys of their new life together to take in the rich sights of silks that had been spread in a canopy over the newlyweds and their parents, the tips beginning to lighten from the stalwart rays of sunshine dispersing the cloud cover from that morning. _Maybe it won't be such a bad life after all…._Izayoi contemplated.

"Would you like some Koufetta, my sweet?" Amphitryon's voice broke through her thoughts.

Izayoi stared at the collection of almonds coated in a fine covering of sugar. The sweet and bitter taste was one she was familiar with having sneakily sampled the dish from the high table at the many weddings of her brothers. Her mouth turned down slightly – she wished they were here to steal almonds from her table this time.

Amphitryon noticed her mood change and his ever present smile faltered the slightest bit. For the first time, he wondered if she as exuberant to be wed to him as he was to be wed to her.

Izayoi looked back at the face of her husband. The smile was still there but it looked a bit strained now while dark eyes searched hers as though looking for confirmation that he should still be smiling. Pity overcame her longing for her brothers. She really hadn't been fair to her new husband at all. He was a good man, and more than that, he was a strong man who would be able to provide for her and protect her.

She tried for a smile. "Of course, my dearest."

He brightened and raised the bowl to pass it to her but misjudged the distance to her hand and ended up dropping it mere inches away from her out-stretched hand. The bowl fell with a resounding smash – all the wedding guest ceased their talking immediately and whipped around to the head table.

Poor Amphitryon's face drained of its normal olive tones only to be colored again as though filled with the fine wine at his right hand. His parents at his side quickly busied themselves with their plates in an effort to hide their embarrassment.

But at his other side, laughter erupted, ringing out in the stillness. Izayoi's peals of laughter shook her entire body and completely drained the tension she had been building for weeks. She managed to contain her mirth long enough to pick up one of the almonds that had made it to her plate in the crash and turned to her husband.

"Oh my husband," she struggled out through peals of laughter. "You only throw pots before they've been hardened."

And she placed the almond in his open mouth.

He chewed and laughed with his new wife while a chorus of aww's served to cover the confusion of the crowd. _What was so funny about that? _they wondered. But at the head table, the bride and groom laughed together, knowing that they had just needed an outlet to release their fear and uncertainty.

* * *

Izayoi was much happier – she rose to dance with Amphitryon, who only joined her after a great deal of pleading. He was a terrible dancer, stepping on her feet while they skipped together and apart. Sometimes he would miss steps all together, but the happiness and laughter shining from his new bride would lighten his despair at his own incompetence and convince him to continue to try.

They finally crashed back to the silks at the head table, flushed with excitement, hands clasped together, for the toasts. As was the usual process, Izayoi's father stood unsteadily and a hush fell over the revelry. He raised his glass to his ruddy face and peered into its equally ruddy contents, mulling over what he wanted to say to bless his favorite child in her new life.

"Thank you," he finally slurred out, "for joining us on this most festive of occasions. I am grateful that you could celebrate with us as I send my beloved daughter to the arms of both her new husband and new role in life. I can only wish her every happiness for her years ahead."

Here the king smiled at the new couple who glowed back with similar warmth.

"I wish that my sons could be here to join us in the celebration, as I am sure they are disappointed to have missed out on such an opportunity to mock their little sister."

A shadow crossed his good-humored continence. "But they have been called away to uphold the honor of our city-state and our family. And because they aren't here to share in the wedding feast, I have reached a decision. Amphitryon," with sudden clearness and sobriety, he looked into the eyes of his new son-in-law. "You are not to lay with Izayoi until her brothers return and honor has been restored to our family, as without the feasting of _both _families, you are not truly wed."

A clash was heard as Amphitryon dropped another bowl, but this time only shock was left to fill the silence.

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_**Author's notes :**_

Hello fanfiction community - long time reader, first time writer and all that.

This story is my way of saying thank you to all of you. Things have been pretty hard since I graduated and I'm having a really hard time finding a paying job. But you guys have always been there to lighten my spirits with your ridiculously intriguing stories and incredibly intricate and creative plot lines. I usually just let things like that slip by unnoticed, but it's hard to explain how wonderful it is to relax into a great story with my favorite characters after an awful interview and I just couldn't leave that thankfulness unsaid. On an unrelated note, if you or anyone else you know needs a graphic designer, you just let me know :P

I am a new author so I have all of the insecurity that comes with releasing my beloved story into the wild of the internet and I just squeal in high pitched volumes when I see that new people have looked at my story. So I would appreciate it if you would say something back to me, if only to summon the neighborhood dogs with my inhuman frequencies.

Please enjoy my gift to you and I hope you keep reading!


	4. Chapter 3

_**A disclaimer : I do not own Inuyasha**_

_**A note of gratitude : None of this would be possible without my fantastic beta (the lovely and talented Deathangel113) and viewers like you.**_

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Dusk fell on the wedding feast, but its steady creeping had gone unnoticed as confusion and rage flowed among the wedding party like the silk in canopy above.

"What do you mean they're not married?!" Amphitryon's father Alcaeus screamed at King Electryon. "You already paid the bride price!"

"I mean just what I said!" the King roared back. "They're not married until both families are present to give her away! And her family is not present!"

"You're her family! You're present! You gave her away!"

"I am one tenth of the males in the house hold! Not a ratio that would be even close to being acceptable!"

Back and forth they argued over the heads of the very confused bride and groom. The mantra was picked up at the lower tables as well until the entire celebration had dissolved into arguments and tantrums between households.

"Amphitryon, how could this happen?" Izayoi turned her doe eyes on her husband.

"I don't know, love," he tried for an explanation, but could only voice his confusion. "This was supposed to be a joyous occasion – now it seems everyone has fallen into bickering turmoil…."

"I was actually enjoying myself too…" she muttered to herself, but he caught her words.

"You were?" The sun broke through his bewilderment to return the smile from only a few hours ago.

"I really was," she glowed back at him, surprised to find that she was telling the truth.

"Do you want to….leave?" Amphitryon ventured.

"Can we leave our own wedding feast?"

"Well….I'm actually not sure….."

"You know what? Let's just go."

Izayoi took Amphitryon's hand and he helped her rise to her feet. She opened her mouth to say something to her father, or anyone of her household, but then decided it would be futile to try to excuse herself overtop of the storm. She grabbed one of the silks she had been seated on and wrapped it about her shoulders while Amphitryon also took up his silks and discretely wrapped some fruits inside. Then the newly married couple stole off into the night without blessings or farewells.

"I am very sorry about what happened back there…." Izayoi said as she and her husband strolled hand in hand down the rocky path towards his pastures.

"It's no fault of yours, I'm sure," he graciously replied. "I know that honor must be very important to a family such as yours."

"Yes, that and obstinacy…" she grumbled.

He laughed, looking at her with surprise. Would she always be like this? She was so different from the vapid princess she had been described as. While she did appear to have a gentle soul, it seemed to occasionally be countered with fiery spirit.

"Well, where would you like to go, my sweet?" he asked. "Would you like a tour? There are many fields to stroll through, provided you are comfortable with only the moonlight for a torch. Or we can visit the flocks? I'm sure some friendly faces may be welcome now and the animals your father gave me would have reached these fields long ago."

Izayoi was touched for his concern for her, but nothing had come close to her earlier shock at having been asked for her opinions on everything from the various foods to the people present at the ceremony. He seemed to wish for a partnership with her and not just another servant. She still appeared to have some of that freedom she so loved and that had almost eclipsed all of her apprehensions of married life. Hope dared flicker inside her heart, warming it while his words fanned it into a flame.

"I'd like a stroll through the grounds," she replied.

"Shall we then?" he offered, moving her small hand from his to the crook of his extended elbow.

The pinpricks of many stars and the much brighter moonlight showed Amphitryon and his little wife as they strolled through the fields and down the many rows of the vineyards, arm in arm, sharing in the stolen fruits of their disastrous wedding feast. He would point out particulars of the lands or the plants, and she would occasionally voice her own comments or agreements. Sometimes Amphitryon would stumble over some root, wickedly blending into the darkness, but Izayoi would gently help him upright again and they would continue onward, simply content to be in one another's company. They could barely hear the tempest of tempers of their arguing relatives from up the road.

* * *

"What do you think?" Excitement burned in his eyes – he wanted her to be happy here.

Izayoi took in the new furnishings with a smile. It really wasn't much different from her own home, lacking only in the surge of confusion created by her many brothers and their wives.

"It's lovely, Amphitryon. It really is."

"Do you think you could be happy, tending here?"

"I'm sure I'll be content as long as you are here to look after me."

He swept her off her feet once more, pressing his lips to hers in the first kiss she had ever received. Her whole body stiffened, unsure of what to do. Amphitryon kissed her again, insecurity beginning to shadow his earlier ecstasy. Izayoi moved her lips over his. This seemed to be the correct response, and they both relaxed into their kiss.

Amphitryon was reigning in his passion, unwilling to frighten his obviously youthful bride, but he could contain himself no longer. He pulled her slight frame tighter and used his tongue to beg her lips for entrance. He felt her freeze once more and cursed himself for his haste. He was still mentally berating himself when he felt her tongue. She had apparently taken to mimicking his motions, obviously inexperienced but showing willingness to learn.

Eyes closed and lips moving, Amphitryon walked with her to his bedroom, where he gently lay her down on the soft cloth. She started for a moment at the touch of cool material at her back, but then returned to her earlier concentration on her studying. He hovered over her, attempting to keep all of his weight off her delicate frame. Slowly, carefully, he shifted his weight to one hand and brought the other to delicately stroke her cheek. Izayoi sighed at the touch and encouraged, Amphitryon moved his hand down the fine lines of her face, to her neck and out across her shoulder. A gently shudder met this exploration, and he tried it again, moving a little deeper to the hollows of her neck before fanning out to her shoulder once more. Another shudder, and she lifted herself to press against his form. He was so heartened by her responding that he readied himself for the physical passion he had dreamed of, but then remembered her father's last words to him.

Groaning with frustration, he lifted himself off of her. Izayoi's eyes flew open at the feeling of space he put between them.

"What's wrong? Am I not doing it right?" She asked in a panic.

"Oh no dearest - you are sensational," he sighed. "I'm just not to lay with you just yet. I will respect your father's request."

"Oh," Izayoi replied in a quiet voice. "Perhaps it's all for the best. I am a bit frightened."

"You are? Oh my sweet, never fear!" he countered. "I won't ever force you to do anything you don't want to. Ever!"

Beaming up at him, Izayoi kissed him.

"Oh thank you!" she exclaimed.

She curled up into him and he wrapped his arms around her, content to keep her there. He couldn't have known he had just said the only words she had wanted to hear to ensure her future happiness, but he accepted her affection all the same. It was a pleasant change from the stoic and unresponsive bride he had received in the temple of Hera that afternoon.


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